Evaluating Online Intake:What are we learning?

September 19, 2012

What We Will Cover Today

• How programs have implemented online intake• What more experienced programs are learning about

the impact of online intake

Join the conversation via Twitter hashtag #lsntap

Moderator: Allison McDermottDeputy Director, Pro Bono Net

Let’s Define Our Terms

Online Intake = Online application tool

+ Online intake system

Are you doing online intake?

Let’s take a poll to find out!

Who is doing online intake?

From: http://lsntap.org/content/online-intake-and-online-screen-systems-0, as of March 2012.

Just over 50% of the states have at least one legal aid program using online intake

When did they launch?

Less than year agoMore than a year ago

What tech are they using?

From: http://lsntap.org/content/online-intake-and-online-screen-systems-0, as of March 2012.

A2JHTMLASP or PHPPDF CMS IntegrationA2J CMS IntegrationASP CMS IntegrationOther

NJP: 7 Months In• Triages online intake users:

– sends those to other websites for cases NJP does not handle

– rejects those who do not qualify financially or by type of case

– only call back those people who had a denial of benefits case or eviction

– All users are given resources at the end of the interview regardless of outcome

Demand is Huge

• 6394 people completed online interview 704 called back by NJP as high priority cases 3710 told to call as they might qualify 1980 told not to call as they did not qualify and given other resources

• 1049 became NJP cases and were helped 474 were callbacks (67% of callback eligible) 575 had been told to call (15% of possibly eligible)

Already Learning• Phone screening interview for online intakes

takes staff half the time.

• People initially confused about when NJP would call them vs. when they should call.

• 41% found resources useful; 44% did not use the resources.

Let’s Hear from Our Learned Peers

Craige HarrisonAttorney, Utah Legal Services

Debra JenningsManaging Attorney, Legal Aid Line, ABLE and LAWO

William Guyton, Jr.Information Technology Manager, Legal Services Alabama

Robert StroudCall Center Director, Legal Services Alabama

ABLE and LAWO

Debra JenningsManaging Attorney, Legal Aid Line

Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. (ABLE) and Legal Aid of Western Ohio, Inc. (LAWO) are nonprofit regional law firms that provide high

quality legal assistance in civil matters to help eligible low-income individuals and groups in western Ohio achieve self reliance, and equal

justice and economic opportunity.

Legal Aid Line is a project of ABLE in partnership with LAWO. Legal Aid Line provides intake, brief service and referrals to eligible online,

walk-in, and telephone applicants for legal assistance.

LAWO and ABLE Service AreasABLE and LAWO have offices serving 32 counties in northwest and west central Ohio. Approximately 351,268 low-income people live in northwest and west central Ohio.

By the NumbersRequests for Assistance in 2011•Approx 32,000 requests for assistance•Approx 25,000 applications for assistance

Intake Access Points•Walk In

o 3% of total intake traffic•Telephone (Automatic Callback System)

o 60% of total intake traffic•Online

o 37% of total intake traffico Online application option

since 2004o A2J online application

since August 2009

Original Staffing Model:

11 FTE Intake Specialists1 FTE Intake Manager6 FTE Equivalent Attorneys2 FTE Equivalent Contract Attorneys1 FTE Supervising Attorney1 FTE Managing Attorney

Original Hours of Operation:

Walk In: M – F 9am – 5pm

Telephone: M - F 9am – 4pm

Online: 24 hours/day; 7 days/week

Intake Model

Walk InTelephone

Online Applicant

Intake Specialist

Attorney

Applicant Demographics - Gender

Walk In– 50% Male– 50% Female

Telephone– 60% Female– 40% Male

Online– 72% Female– 28% Male

Applicant Demographics - AgeWalk In

– 27% 50-59– 21% 40-49– 18% 30-39– 18% 20-29

Telephone– 25% 30-39– 25% 20-29– 22% 40-49– 17% 50-59

Online– 33% 30-39– 31% 20-29– 21% 40-49

Applicant Demographics - Ethnicity

Walk In– 53% Black– 34% White– 7.5% Hispanic

Telephone– 49% White– 27.5% Black– 4% Hispanic

Online– 72% White– 17% Black– 4% Hispanic

Applicant Demographics – HH Income

Walk In– 58% 0-$9,999– 27% $10,000 -$19,999

Telephone– 49% 0-$9,999– 32% $10,000 -$19,999– 15% $20,000 -$29,999

Online– 37% 0-$9,999– 33% $10,000-$19,9999– 18% $20,000-$29,999

Applicant Demographics - EducationWalk In

– 50% High School diploma– 20% “Some” high school– 15% “Some” college

Telephone– 44% High School diploma– 23% “Some” high school– 18% “Some” college

Online– 43% High School diploma– 28% “Some” college– 13% “Some” high school

Applicant Demographics - Other• Geography

– Overall applications - county of origin• 58% urban• 42% rural

– Online applications - county of origin• 59% rural• 41% urban

• Computer Access– 66% Home– 16% Friend or Relative– 7% Social Service Agency– 4% Library– 3% Government– 4% Other

A2J Online Intake Efficiencies & Opportunities

• “Intake process” shortened by approximately 10 – 15 minutes– Consistently accurate information – “Verify” vs. “Collect”

• Average time to attempt first contact with online applicants – 24 hours (1 business day)

• Online applicants receive helpful information based upon the legal problem selected from the A2J intake interview options and their county of residence through a software program link - ClientsWin

• Online Intake Traffic - Peak Times– Afternoons; Evenings; Weekends

• What’s next? – “How” client population is accessing the internet

A2J Online Intake “Surprises”• A2J online intake significantly reduced multiple attempts to “get

through” to Legal Aid Line through available access points • Applicants with emergencies/deadlines continue to apply online

despite “warnings”– Modified the online application review process to accommodate

• Managing online applicant expectations– Initial contact is an Intake Specialist vs. an attorney

• Online applications– Total traffic has actually “decreased”– Meaningful traffic has “increased”

• Telephone applications– More efficient handling– Reduced wait time

Staffing: 3 Years Later• By Design

– HR Impact• Saved 0.5 – 1.0 FTE

– Opportunity to shift FTE resources from online application processing to telephone processing and other projects

Staffing: 3 Years Later• Staff Reductions – Economic Downturn

– New Staffing Model• 8.5 FTE equivalent Intake Specialists• 1 FTE Intake Manager• 3.3 FTE equivalent Attorneys • 1 FTE Supervising Attorney• 1 FTE Managing Attorney

– New Hours of Operation• Walk In

– M – F 9am – 5pm• Telephone

– M – F 9am – 2pm• Online

– 24 hours/day; 7 days/week

Utah Legal Services

Craige HarrisonAttorney, Utah Legal Services

Utah Legal Services

► Statewide organization► Statewide since 1976► <50 Employees► 4 offices, Utah’s geography► About 20,000 requests for assistance annually► Staff of 4.3 FTE intake workers, 3.3 bilingual in Spanish► A focus on providing an equal level of service statewide

Online Intake System

► A2J guided interview/Kemps CMS► Triage for Residency, Problem Type & LSC eligibility► Holding table for online data► Reviewed with clients► Imported to appropriate table (Eligibility vs Full)

Triage System

► Online applications► 433 unique page views last month► 87 actual submissions

► Online vs Telephone Eligibility screening ► Full cases: 64% vs 47%► LSC Eligibility: 87% vs 55%

Other results

► Eligibility screening time decreased► Queue times: 10 minutes from 12 minutes► Anecdotal: As much as half

► Greater availability► Urban vs Rural (55/45 vs 63/37)► Hard of hearing► DV victims► Temporarily out of the country, etc.

Discoveries

► Putting onus on applicant► About 15% don’t follow through► Instituted a “call” reminder which decreases it to about 5%

► Call back appointments – About 30% don’t answer . . .

► Soft Financial Data ► Many misinterpret houshold/income questions► Other Data seems fairly accurate

Legal Services Alabama

Robert StroudCall Center Director

William Guyton, Jr.Information Technology Manager

Overview• Launched in October

2009

• Uses Form Router (PDF) to send info into Legal Files CMS for Call Center staff

• http://intake.alsp.org/

Call Center Policy Directive

Call Center Policy Directive 2012-1 is issued to maintain accountability and a continuous record of the progress and status of each case received through the on-line application process. Each on-line application is delegated to one of the following categories.

Counsel & Advice

Direct Referrals

VLP Referrals

Impact on Intake Overall

• From 9/11-8/12, LSA had 13,962 total accepted cases– 53% field office walk-ins– 28% telephone hotline– 10% other (partner referrals, out of state referrals,

former clients, etc.)– 9% online

The 9%

• 1,287 cases accepted • 72 cases rejected• 542 cases referred to pro bono partner

Lessons from LSA

• Online intake form must evolve– Now on 4th version of form

• So must the technology– Moving to HTML form now, away from PDF– Integrate with new Legal Server CMS

• Web stats show increase in mobile usage

Still have questions?

Craige HarrisonAttorney, Utah Legal Services801-924-3382, craige@utahlegalservices.org

Debra JenningsManaging Attorney, Legal Aid Line, ABLE and LAWO419-255-0814, djennings@ablelaw.org

William Guyton, Jr.Information Technology Manager, Legal Services Alabama(334)328-8685, wguyton@alsp.org

Robert StroudCall Center Director, Legal Services Alabama(334) 832-4570, extension 3021, rstroud@alsp.org

THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING TODAY!

Register for the next LSNTAP webinar:

Mobile PhonesOctober 3, 2012 at 1 pm ET

More information at www.lsntap.org

Contact Information

Brian Rowe (brianr@nwjustice.org) or via chat on www.lsntap.org

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